In wars, the names of towns and cities associated with great turning points have reverberated down the years – Blenheim, Waterloo, El Alamein, Stalingrad to name a few. Is Trostyanets to be added to this list? It is a town 220 miles east of Kyiv where the Russian 4th Guards Tank Division was ensconced until the weekend when it was routed by Ukrainian forces.

This unit holds a legendary status in Russia from its role during the Second World War in the relief of Stalingrad. Images emerging from Trostyanets show burnt-out howitzers and tanks belonging to the elite division, with Ukrainian forces now back in control of a strategically important route to the besieged city of Sumy 30 miles to the north. There are now hopes its 200,000 occupants can be relieved.

This is a potentially critical moment in the war. Not only are the Ukrainians resisting Russia’s aggression but they have recaptured a key town. This is not something many observers imagined would happen a few weeks ago.

Military strategists are not so much surprised by their heroic stand as the seeming incompetence of the Russian military. What was assumed to be a ruthless and highly efficient fighting machine has turned out to be anything but. Its largely conscripted soldiers are demoralised, cold and under-nourished. Calamitous logistical errors have seen their convoys running out of fuel within 100 miles of their own borders.

Thousands of Russian soldiers have been killed, including at least five generals, a fatality rate among top commanders that is almost unprecedented in modern warfare. Many more soldiers have been captured together with tons of equipment now being used against the invaders.

Of course, we know that Russia can always call on more men and more equipment than Ukraine. It also has chemical, biological and nuclear weapons at its disposal, though to use any would risk triggering a wider European war.

The reality is that Ukraine’s resistance may merely lead to a bloody stalemate which will see more of its towns destroyed and a growing number of its brave citizens killed. However, it might make the Kremlin realise that it has severely miscalculated the likely outcome of its invasion and seek a way out.

Much of the damage caused to Russian positions has been inflicted by Western, including British, weapons. We must keep up the supply.